How much notice must a landlord give before entering in California?

Verified July 7, 2026 All California topics →

Check your municipality. California does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below.

What the state record says

Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Civ. Code § 1947.12): annual increases on covered units capped at the lesser of 5% + regional CPI or 10%, measured against the lowest rent in the prior 12 months, max two increases per 12 months, in effect through 2030. Exempt: housing with certificate of occupancy within 15 years (rolling), most single-family homes/condos not owned by corporations or REITs (exemption requires statutory written disclosure to the tenant), owner-occupied duplexes. Stricter local rent-control ordinances control where they exist.

California landlords must give reasonable written notice before entering an occupied unit — 24 hours is presumed reasonable — stating the date, approximate time, and purpose, and entry must happen during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

Entry without notice is allowed only in emergencies, with the tenant's at-the-door consent, or after abandonment.

California entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required	24 hours
Notice standard	Reasonable written notice required — 24 hours is presumed reasonable. Notice must state date, approximate time, and purpose; entry during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise. (Six days' mailed notice is presumed reasonable when notice is mailed.)
Permitted reasons	Emergency; agreed or necessary repairs, decorations, alterations, improvements; showing to prospective tenants, buyers, lenders, or contractors; pre-move-out inspection; court order; abandonment/surrender.
Emergency exception	Yes
Time-of-day restrictions	Normal business hours unless tenant consents at time of entry or otherwise agrees.

Statute citations

Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 Official source

How this record was verified: Web verification against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Civ. Code 1950.5, 827; AB 12 bill text) with corroborating county/city government sources (SF.gov, LA County DCBA, San Mateo County) for AB 1482 and Civ. Code 1954 operation.